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Top 5 Friday: The Rockstar Treatment.

So I’ve been playing Red Dead Redemption lately (a bit late to that party, I know) and I’m absolutely loving the atmosphere of that game. I’ve never been a huge fan of westerns but I find myself riveted by the level of detail that Rockstar puts into the worlds they craft. Red Dead is very obviously an homage to all things wild west and the world is a wonderful place to have fun in. I love what Rockstar does, but I’m less excited about Grand Theft Auto 6 than I am a game that let’s their designers to stretch their legs a bit more (like Red Dead). So here are my top 5 picks for genres or time periods that would be awesome to see as a Rockstar world.

5. Space

When Rockstar crafts a world, they go to great lengths to add in all sorts of little tributes to the material that inspired it. As a big fan of science fiction, I would absolutely love to just walk around in a Rockstar created sci-fi universe. For one, the aliens (and there would have to be aliens) would undoubtedly be hilarious. In addition, with all of the universe as a playground, they could experiment with all kinds of new and interesting game mechanics.

4. Fantasy

That’s right, we’re going from sci-fi straight to fantasy. I’m a big fan of the fantasy genre as well as sci-fi, and I think there is a huge range of great source material to pull from here as well. In fact, I think you could argue that fantasy, as a genre, has the most source material in terms of games, books, movies, etc… to pull from. In addition, Rockstar doesn’t typically add a lot of RPG mechanics to their games which would be freeing in a fantasy environment. I can just imagine riding a unicorn across a meadow, slaying orcs and goblins as a the king’s knights chase me (because my wanted level was too high). Dungeons and towers and dragons to slay would all be part of the adventure, with that signature Rockstar tongue-in-cheek humor.

3. Victorian Era

I have a huge soft spot for Victorian era London. I love the architecture, the gothic darkness of it, the dress. All of it. And with that as your stage, there are so many directions to go. There are werewolves, vampires, Jack the Ripper, Van Helsing, Dracula, and all sorts of other creepies. Not to mention the fact that there’s always bits of steampunk to work into the mix. I know that Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate will feature the same time period and that’s great, but Rockstar games are just on a completely different level when it comes to world building and atmosphere.

2. The Golden Age of Pirates

Another period that Assassin’s Creed has already used, the golden age of pirates offers another fantastic backdrop for the type of game that Rockstar likes to make. Rooted in history but filled with myth and legend, and a myriad of grown-up stories, the age of pirates would give Rockstar plenty of material to draw from, and no shortage of ideas for lively characters. Again, I know that Assassin’s Creed has already done the pirate thing but that certainly doesn’t mean that they have a monopoly on it.

1. 70’s Cop Movies

Come on, you know you want this game. All I have to do is mention 70’s cop movies and you already have 90% of the picture in your head. Big revolvers, big cars, big hair, big mustaches and of course, big personalities. Rockstar could probably take any genre and make it awesome with their unique spin, but none seem quite as suited to what they do as the 70’s cop genre. From blaxploitation to The French Connection there are no shortage of controversial and interesting pieces of material from which to create an incredible world. Plus, this basically falls in line with what Rockstar already does; semi-modern worlds with cars, guns, buildings, etc… it would be so perfect!